I love dark chocolate and salted caramel.
I love a good book and a strong cup of coffee.
I love my daughters.
I love my husband.
I love Jesus.
The English verb "love" really has a variety of meanings. Obviously, I do not love pasta and bread the same way that I love my husband. I am thankful for the graces of being able to enjoy good candy and a good book, but those things pale in comparison to delighting in my Savior.
When I list and look at the things I love I am filled with thanksgiving and appreciation to the Giver of all those gifts. And I find myself praying to love the Giver more than the gifts that He gives. He has pursued my heart and He deserves the praise and the obedience of it.
What has He asked me to do? Who has He asked me to love? How am I supposed to fulfill that command?
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35
This is a pretty tall order. God isn't asking us, but rather telling us that if we are to be identified as His disciples we have to love one another like He does - self-sacrificing, forgiving, 1 Corinthians 13 - loving...
I am selfish. I hold grudges and my love is far from patient - and that is toward the "one anothers" I "love" the most.
Then there are "one anothers" in my life who have hurt me. There are those that frustrate me. There are those that get under my skin and irritate me. I can't understand them. I disagree with them. I judge them and their actions.
(Notice just how self-centered I am?!)
So, how do we do it? How do we do what Jesus tells us to?
- POWER - We have the power of the Holy Spirit, living and working within us. Not of our own will, but by His might. What is impossible with man is possible with God. (Matthew 19:26)
- PRAYER - We have not because we've not asked for it. (John 16:24) Asking for God to intervene and love through us- that is the very kind of request He always answers with a resounding, "YES." It may not be easy, but He will enable us to do what He has told us to.
- PERSPECTIVE - Generalizations and stereotypes. Lack of faith and un-forgiveness. There are plenty of excuses we might acknowledge, or be innocently ignorant of, that we try to pass off as reasons for disobeying this command to love like Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit as we pray, God will soften our hearts and open our eyes to give us His perspective that we might see the individual as He does. Every "one another" we are called to love has a past, has present circumstances that we can't fully comprehend, and is valued by God in the same way we are.
So, how does this play out in my life?
Prayerfully . . .
I will seek my teen daughter's perspective as we discuss her grades and cell phone use. I will pray for God's direction to guide our decisions regarding our relationship with her. I will trust that the Holy Spirit will empower us to make hard decisions and to stick with the boundaries we have set for her. I will love her like Jesus does.
I will try to understand "that" group within the church that seems to always be making waves. I will pray for them and for the church. I will pray seeking forgiveness and that no root of bitterness will be allowed to grow. I will trust that God's word is true and that He is somehow working all things for our good and His glory. I will love them like Jesus does.
I will acknowledge that I do not truly know my fellow driver on the road, nor do I know their destination or departure point. I cannot know what kind of day they are having. I will pray for patience and grace to extend to them from within the confines of my seatbelt. I will trust that God is using His power within this opportunity to make me more like Jesus. I will love them like Jesus does.
These are just a few examples of how Jesus-type love can be enacted within my life. What about yours? What does it look like to love like Jesus in your real life?
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